If Things Had Been Different
by Moonstar00125
Summary: What if Megamind had died on that fateful day rather than Metro Man? How would Roxanne go on? Would she realize only too late how she felt? Well, friend, why not enter the realms of my imagination and find out? ;
1. They Aren't People

"This isn't the real observatory!" Roxanne cried as the opening of the _real_ observatory slammed shut on Metro Man.

"Ready the deathray, Minion!" Megamind ordered. "Over here, old friend," he called, directing this last part at Metro Man. "In case you haven't noticed, you've fallen _right_ into my trap!"

"You can't trap justice! It's an idea; a belief!" Metro Man told Megamind.

"But even the most heartfelt belief can be corroded over time!"

"Justice is a non-corrosive metal!"

"But metals can be melted by the heat of ravahnge!"

"It's revenge, and it's best served cold!"

"But it can be easily reheated, in the microwave of evil!"

"Well, I think your warranty is about to expire!"

"Maybe I got an extended warranty?"

"Warranties are invalid if you don't use the project for its intended purpose!"

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty! Can I go home now?" Roxanne cut in.

"Of course! That is, if Metro Man can withstand the full, concentrated power of the sun! FIRE!" Nothing happened. Megamind asked, rolling his eyes and walking over to his fishfriend. "Minion? Fire?"

"Still warming up, Sir."

"Come again?"

"Warming up, Sir."

"Warming up? The SUN is warming up?"

"One second more, and...just a tipy-tipy-tap-tap-tip-top more, and we are ready in just...a few moments...here we almost go...and we're a...bout to get ready..."

"Honestly!" Megamind cried in exasperation. "I told you to have things ready! I told you countless times!"

"Why do you always blame me, Sir?" the fish asked innocently.

"Ah! My spider bite is acting up!"

"You're plan is failing," Roxanne informed him. "Just admit it!"

"Yeah, good luck with that one!" Minion said pointedly.

"Who's side are you _on?_" Megamind demanded of his sidekick.

"Could someone stamp my frequent kidnapping card?" Roxanne asked.

"You of all people should know we discontinued that promotion!" Megamind snapped.

"Same time next week then?" Roxanne questioned, but before Minion could hit her with the spray, she realized that Metro Man had been uncharacteristically quiet. "Metro Man?" she interrogated, looking to the screen, but Metro Man was gone, the room empty, and a gaping hole in the wall. "Uh, Megamind," she said, nodding towards the screen.

"What is it now?" he grumbled, and when he looked over her head, he screamed and rushed over to Minion. As they huddled in a whispering circle, there was a huge crash and an explosion. Roxanne looked up, just in time to see the outline of a skeleton falling from the sky. She screamed, but the moment she did, she saw it was just Metro Man, alive and well. He must have done something to destroy the deathray and was coming back for Megamind!

Just then, Metro Man crashed to the ground, nearly going through the floor. He stood up, planting hands on hips and putting a cheesy smile on his face. "It looks like someone called for an extra case of justice!" he cried as Megamind screamed and held up his hands, Minion stepping in front of his master to shield him. Metro Man tossed him aside as if he were nothing. "Come on, Megamind; just admit that you've lost."

"Never!" Megamind exclaimed, turning and throwing a handful of something into Metro Man's eyes, causing him to stumble backwards, rubbing furiously to get it out. Roxanne couldn't speak; she was too caught up in he action. Megamind leaped onto his panel, trying to get as far from Metro Man as possible while Minion grabbed jetpacks from a corner. But Metro Man was too fast!

Before the allotted time, Metro Man had cleared his eyes and was flying up to meet Megamind on the panel. Pulling back his fist, Metro Man punched Megamind with all the force he could muster, and sent him flying up through the now broken roof. "Go Metro Man!" Roxanne cried as Minion stood.

"SIR!" the fish cried, fixing on a jetpack and flying off.

They were far enough to be seen through the gap in the fake observatory before the jetpack malfunctioned.

Minion began to fall, and Roxanne watched in amusement as he fell, down, down, down, followed by a battered Megamind.

"You aren't fooling anyone!" she called as loudly as possible as they screamed in distress, thinking they were planning on pulling a last minute escape. But when they didn't answer, when they kept falling, when they got closer to the water without pulling up, or even Minion catching Megamind, Roxanne grew worried. "Stop that!" she yelled at Metro Man, who was trying to untie her. "You have to save them!"

"Evil doesn't need saving," he informed her.

"But they do!" Roxanne cried, struggling against him. "You have to help them!"

"If I help them they'll only turn around and try and harm Metro City, and they've never needed saving before."

"Well I never needed saving before Megamind kidnapped me for the first time! You have to help them! Megamind can't swim, and Minion's too heavy to swim!"

"They're just trying to mess with you, Roxanne—"

"THEY NEED HELP!" she screamed, feeling her fingers dig down into the chair she was sitting on; she could feel them turning white.

"But they're evil!"

"They're still people!"

"They _aren't_ people, Roxanne!"

"How can you even _say_ that!"

"But they aren't!"

"They still have a right to...to...to..." Roxanne trailed off, her eyes filling with tears and her voice catching in her throat as she watched Megamind and Minion plummet the last few feet down and into Lake Michigan. She cringed as she heard the splash and saw them disappear beneath the surface. She waited. And waited. And waited. A minute went by. Two. Three. And Roxanne knew they weren't coming back.

Megamind was dead.

**Author Comments:**

**I came up with his idea one morning about a year ago. I thought, 'what if Megamind had died instead of Metro Man?' So this is what came of it; Chapter 1. Let's see how things go while Megamind is out of commission. MWAAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAAAHA!**

**ALSO: I apologize for the terrible quality in writing-I cringe at my own year-old works, and I'm sure you do as well. AND, of course, I apologize TWICE as much for the tired repetition of everyone's favorite banter scene, but...Yeah. Oh! And I realize now that Roxanne's scream is one-hundred-percent OOC, and the skeleton, just to note it, is just a trick of the eye. SO. Yes. I'm sorry. :F**


	2. Go Away, Bea

Roxanne stood as her bindings fell away under Metro Man's careful hands. "Megamind is dead!" she cried, face creased in shock, hatred, and disgust. "You killed him!" Suddenly the screens erupted in heartfelt cheers, and Roxanne felt sick. "You killed him!" she whispered again, staring at Metro Man in horror.

"Roxxie, he's just pretending; you know how that blue fool likes to play with your emotions."

"You don't understand!" she said, backing up as Metro Man came closer. Her eyes burned with the want of tears to shed. "He can't _swim._ He can't _swim_, and he's been down there for minutes, and Minion can't move underwater-he weighs over seven hundred pounds in that machine! He can't _swim!_ You _killed_ him!" For a second Metro Man looked like he might be worried, but then he smiled that _stupid, cheesy_ smile.

"Then it looks like you won't have to worry about being kidnapped anymore, Roxxie! Would you like to go for dinner some time?" For a moment, Roxanne was frozen. He chose _now_ of all times to try to ask her out for perhaps the thousandth time? She shook her head, barely able to look at him.

"You're a monster!" she whispered as loudly as she could. "You killed Megamind; you killed him and Minion, and you don't even _care!_"

"They were the monsters, Roxxie. You're just too much in shock to realize it. But they can't hurt you anymore, because METRO MAN HAS SAAAAVED THE DAY!" Roxanne shook her head again as he flexed for the screens. How could all these people be cheering? How could they be so happy two of their own kind—Ok, well, _similar_ to their own kind—were dead?

"You're a monster," she whispered a last time, and turned, fleeing from the building without so much as goodbye from Metro Man. He was too busy basking in his glory.

***Break***

Roxanne sat beside her toilet, her throat burning with acidic stomach fluids, her mouth tasting of vomit, and her stomach, now empty, wishing to regurgitate things that weren't there. Her head was light, and her limbs were heavy. The phone rang, making her ears ache. She had already called work to tell them she wasn't coming in tomorrow. Who could be calling?

Checking the cell phone in her pocket, she saw who it was. The same person who called her after every Megamind kidnapping. Beatrice.

"I'm not feeling well," she said, clicking the speakerphone button so she could rest her head against the cool linoleum floor.

"I heard; work just informed me I'll be covering for you tomorrow. What happened today? How did Megamind die? Are you excited? Is it true Metro Man asked you to dinner? How'd you get sick? Did Megamind poison you?" The same regular questions. With a twist.

The twist was the death of the city's supervillain.

"Nothing, no, yes, no, I don't know, he drowned." She answered the questions at random, barely able to form coherent words. "I can't talk right now, Bea. I'll call you in the morning." And Roxanne hung up. She dragged herself to bed, and flopped down over the covers.

All through the night, Roxanne tossed and turned, squirmed and writhed, and got in and out of the covers, depending on whether she was having a heat flash or a cold flash.

And she dreamed; dreamed of Megamind falling to his death, of Minion falling to his, of Metro Man looming over them with his great big smile, slowly morphing into a monster. And then she dreamed of falling to her own death.

***Break***

The next morning, Roxanne awoke feeling much better. She still felt a little sick, but she was relieved, relieved because everything had been a dream induced by a 24-hour bout of flu. But when she turned on the television for company while she lay on the couch, she saw that she was very wrong. Megamind's death was on every channel, every news cast, every ten minutes.

She felt sick all over again, and didn't know why. As she leaned over a trashcan, relinquishing the small piece of toast she'd just eaten, it occurred to her that sickness always chose the most inopportune times.

So did phone calls.

**Author Comments:**

**Ugh. Another of those icky transition chapters. Boy do I hate those. :b**


	3. Searching For Answers

For a week, everywhere Roxanne went, there were flashes of blue in the corners of her eyes, making her turn only to see a poster or a billboard or a magazine cover, or even a book with Megamind's picture. You couldn't go anywhere in Metro City without seeing his picture plastered somewhere or everywhere. And every time she saw them it hurt Roxanne, hurt in a way she had never felt before, not all the times she'd fallen down, not when she had broken her leg that one time when Metro Man accidentally dropped her. Not even the pain she had felt when her parents died so many years ago measured up.

And the worst part was, she didn't know why it hurt.

Then the first week passed, and Megamind was gone. Sure, there was the occasional picture here and there, a marker dedicated to his first attempted takeover of Metro City, and he was talked about here and there. It was impossible for him to vanish altogether after so many years, but it was so surreal how quickly he disappeared. After fifteen years of terrorizing the town, he received a week of goodbye. And then nothing.

And the nothing hurt more.

As the first two weeks passed, Roxanne Ritchi watched as the city became cleaner and cleaner. Crime levels dropped, and stood at a record low. Metro Man came out less and less to fight crime and more and more just to be a publicity hog. For once in the history of mankind, there was good news on the front page of the paper three days running. And because of Roxanne's work, she ran into Metro Man more often than anyone else, always asking whether she'd made up her mind to go to dinner. She never gave a real answer, found a way to slip it by, but it was becoming harder and harder.

Which was why she found herself in the graveyard.

***Break***

Roxanne leaned against her mother's headstone, arm draped over the top, head resting on the side, her other hand holding the face just beneath the inscription she had ordered specially for her mother—

_"Relda Ritchi_

_May she find Peace as a Reporter for God."_

"I don't know what to do, Mom," she said quietly, talking to the gravestone as if it could really give her advice. "I'm so confused. I thought everything would be wonderful if Megamind was gone, if he could just go away and stop kidnapping me. But now that he's dead, it just…It hurts. It's excruciating. It's such a deep, soul-shaking pain, and I don't know why. It's there when I walk down the street, when I interview a criminal, when I go to bed at night, and even when I'm just talking to Bea. And then Metro Man is always pushing me to go on an actual date with him—Ugh.

"At least when Megamind was around, I always had an excuse; 'No, sorry Metro Man, I'm pretty sure Megamind is planning a kidnapping for that day,' or, 'I'm not sure if it's such a good idea with crime rates so high nowadays.' But now the crime rate is dropping, and Megamind—_Megamind's gone._" She said the last word as a whisper, not daring to utter it loudly.

"I'm running out of excuses, Mom, and inside, every time I see Metro Man, all I can think is, _Monster_, and I just...I don't understand any of it. I thought I hated Megamind, I thought I was friends with Metro Man. I thought I didn't care about Megamind at all, and I thought that Metro Man was a good person. In a way, I thought Metro Man and Megamind were sort of friends; they always seemed to have such a fun time trying to outwit one another... And then Metro Man killed Megamind _and_ Minion, and never blinked an eye, never raised a finger to help, never thought for a second about their wellbeing. I'll never be able to look at him the same way again.

"And you know, Megamind did some things that might seem pretty unforgivable, but Minion...Minion was never a bad fish; he just followed his Master's orders, even if he was on his side through thick and thin and of every accord his own. And neither of them ever tried to hurt me more than the occasional bonked head or bruised leg, or ropeburn or forget-me-stick incident.

"And then, when they were plummeting to their death, Metro Man told me they _weren't human_. It doesn't seem like a big thing; I know they weren't either of them human, but still… But you don't care," Roxanne said as the sun began to set. "Maybe _you_ care Mom, but it doesn't do me any good to sit here and talk to a cold stone tablet with an inscription. And it doesn't do me any good to talk to anyone about this, because no one can give me any answers," she realized, and stood, walking away with her head down.

Roxanne walked in no particular direction for a long while, trying to push everything out of her mind and figure it out at the same time. When she did finally look up, she saw that her feet had taken her right to the Metro Man museum. Roxanne was about to turn around and go home, when she decided against it. She had never been inside the Metro Man museum, though she'd shot tons of footage from outside. So taking a deep breath, and somehow hoping for answers, Roxanne pushed open the doors and entered the museum.

**Author Comments: **

**Chapter THREEEEEEEEEE! Made it! So, basically, Roxanne is confused. Confused and bemused and bamboozled. Will she find answers? Find out tomorrow, or whenever I post or you read the next chapter. :)**


	4. The Note

Roxanne walked quietly through the museum, noticing all the exhibits but not really seeing them. Everywhere she saw blue, but since Megamind was Metro Man's arch nemesis, it was to be expected. Emphasis on was. As in, _had been_. Not, _still is_. The only flash of blue Roxanne really paid any mind to was the corner of the museum dedicated to Megamind.

She read each and every poster, every plaque, examined every picture and artifact, and leafed through every book on display. And when she reached the last, that was it. There was only a corner. Megamind was dead, and this was really all he had to show for it.

"We're closing soon." Roxanne jumped, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.

"Hi...Barry?"

"Bernard."

"Sorry. I'll leave now, sorry to keep you waiting, I just...I don't think it's fair..." she admitted, looking up at the walls. "Megamind is gone, and this is all he has left... A corner. Not even a room for his own. Just a corner…"

"I agree." For a second Roxanne was surprised someone agreed with her, then remembered that Bernard was an expert on all things supervillain, and by extension, all things Megamind. "I was just about to put up the last two exhibit pieces, actually; his certificate of death and this note the museum found after searching his fake observatory."

"Could I see them?" Roxanne asked, and Bernard sighed as if it were the last thing he wanted to do before holding them out. The death certificate she only skimmed, but the note she read over carefully, and it made her blood run cold.

_If you're reading this, I'm either dead, or you've broken into my lair. If you've broken into my lair, you won't be alive much longer. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! _

_But if I'm dead, I'm dead. I only wish for three things to be made known to those I know: The Warden will know that there's a hole in the lower left corner of the jail yard, which is how the inmates have been escaping in recent years. Metro Man will know that I've considered him a good frienemy in years past, but I believe his smile needs work. But overall, a worthy enemy. And lastly, Roxanne will know that she deserves better than Metro Man, and—_

"...'That the thing we will SAVE begins with a C...Under the TEA that begins with an S.' What could that mean?" Roxanne asked, looking up at Bernard. Bernard shrugged and swiftly tacked up the letter.

"I _suppose_ it's a good thing that you've seen it, since _technically_ the museum must legally contact all those mentioned within before taking it as their own." Then he left, pushing his cart and reminding her, "The museum is closed now!"

Roxanne nodded and turned, walking absently from the museum and heading home. But she kept coming back to what Megamind had said, first about the save and tea, and then about her being too good for Metro Man. What did it mean? Either part or both together?

So preoccupied was she that when she entered her apartment, she almost missed the note, hung by tape on her door, as it fluttered past. Catching it, she looked it over.

_You've started down a road that can't be reversed.  
>Don't even try, it can't be transversed.<br>Just know that every TWIST has a TURN,  
>and the BEGINNING will start at the END,<br>When you simply look down the BEND.  
>~TMWLY<em>

Roxanne frowned as she stepped inside and closed the door. Who could this TMWLY person be? Why had they left her this message? Did it have anything to do with the message Megamind sent? And what did they mean?

**Author Comments:**

**OOOOOOHHH! What's this? Strange messages? A secret person with no known identity? Bernard is a jerk again? What could all this mean! Who could TMWLY be! And most importantly—WHEN WILL I STOP ASKING QUESTIONS!**


	5. Kinnith

Roxanne awoke the next morning, a Sunday and her day off, thinking of the letters. While her body slept, her mind had still been turning, trying and succeeding in cracking the code. She now knew what the BEND was.

Roxanne quickly got dressed, threw on her coat, and rushed out the door, down the street, and across town.  
>When Roxanne reached her destination it was already noon, and she was deep in the forest. She's been here often enough when she was younger, as a kid, leaping on stones and playing in the water. It was a small stream that ran through the forest, and here in the center it turned swiftly and hid behind a hill. There was a bridge that ran across it, and, sure enough, when she got to the center of the bridge, there was a note duct-taped to the railing.<p>

_Could it be you've found this note? It seems you have.  
>Like an isle in the ocean, it could be bad.<br>Of course I know you've found it, clever shrew.  
>Could you remember our last letter to you?<br>Konnect me to that one, and you'll be just fine.  
>~TMWLY<em>

Roxanne frowned and reread the message. It didn't make any sense. It gave her nothing, and the last sentence didn't even start with the right letter. After ten more minutes of puzzling, Roxanne gave up. She trudged away, her heart in her heels, and headed back into the city.

Once there, she stopped off at her favorite coffee shop and ordered an espresso.

"Hi!" Roxanne nearly jumped as the man beside her lowered his newspaper and gave her a friendly smile.

"Oh... Hi," she returned, regaining her composure. The man beside her was of average height, had light brown eyes, and a black Mohawk tinged with green. He looked a little strange, not so much for the Mohawk as that he didn't look the type to be sporting one. His clothes were casual, no muscle shirt, just jeans and a T-shirt, and his face was open and friendly.

"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" he asked, sounding a little concerned.

"No, you just...startled me," she denied, and thanked the waiter that handed her her coffee. The man beside her took his own with a remark of gratitude, and turned back to her.

"My name is Kinnith," he introduced, extending a hand.

"Roxanne," she replied, taking it and shaking it firmly.

"Nice to meet you—what's that?" he asked, spying the note with apparent interest.

"N-Nothing," Roxanne said, covering the paper with her coffee. "Just a riddle."

"Oh, I _love_ riddles!" Kinnith exclaimed, picking up a book and showing it to her. It was a mystery novel. "I know almost everything to know about them. My favorites are the ones that displace letters, and also the ones that spell out the real clue lengthwise."

"Lengthwise?" Roxanne asked. Kinnith nodded.

"Up and down. Sometimes the protagonist has to figure it out all on their own, other times they'll receive a clue within their clue, something like, 'the answer is in the first'. Sometimes it's easy to see, sometimes it's not."

"Up and down..." Roxanne murmured, looking at the paper in her hands. Then it hit her. "The beginning will start at the end!" she exclaimed, grabbing Kinnith by the shoulders before rereading the note. "C-L-O-C-K...Clock! That's the answer, clock!" She yelled, and Kinnith didn't seem to know how to respond.

"You seem really excited about that riddle. Is it for a contest, or...?"

"I don't have time to explain!" she said hurriedly, paying for her coffee and tossing the rest in the trash. "Just; what's your number, I might need your help later!"

"6-2-8—4-9-2-0. Why?"

"No time!" Roxanne shouted, running off, a smile of exhilaration and accomplishment on her face. She could already feel the identity of TMWLY coming closer!

Roxanne ran until she reached the building she was looking for. The Metro City Clocktower! She rushed up the steps two at a time, and threw herself into the elevator, pressing the top button and waiting, tapping her foot, as she slowly ascended. When she reached the top, Roxanne looked around the open balcony of the flat top, rimmed with a rail around the edge for safety. It was a romantic place, the second—well, third to Roxanne, though she'd never admit it—most romantic place in the city.

Roxanne searched all over the top of the building, overturning every plant and chair and searching every inch of the ground.

Nothing.

After an hour she gave up and leaned over the railing in exhaustion. Maybe it meant the clock in her apartment? But it seemed so obvious that it would be the Metro City Clocktower, and it frustrated her so much that she smacked the railing—and saw a flash of blue.

Her first reaction was to look at it dead on. She he did, and saw the next note, caught in the long hand of the clockface! Without any regard for personal safety or state regulations, Roxanne leaped down over the railing, beginning to climb down over the clockface. Only when the note was in her hand did she stop. Right there, hanging onto the large hand of the clockface, Roxanne opened it. It was a picture of Megamind, standing with his fingers pointed towards the camera, one eyebrow raised in an overall evil—if somewhat charming—effect. In the corner, written in red ink, were the words she was looking for.

_Don't stop now, you're almost there.  
>Be sure to make sure, don't wet your hair.<br>There's a friend to the left, enemy to the right,  
>And remember to tie the rope tight.<br>If you dive deep enough,  
>It may seem a little tough,<br>But if you give up,  
>We're lost and alone, and not like a pup.<br>~TMWLY_

**Author Comments: **

**THE PLOT THICKENS! What do all these riddles mean? Who is TMWLY? Why is he sending Roxanne these letters? What's next? What's up with Kinnith's mohawk? Is TMWLY even male? JUST KEEP READING!**


	6. Into The Blue

Roxanne stood in front of her newest wall of evidence. It was a habit of hers, when tracking a certain story, to tack up everything she had on a wall, so that she could organize her thoughts. It only seemed obvious that she should tack these notes up. And while she was thinking about the meaning of the notes, she wasn't thinking about Megamind or Metro Man, or about how much it hurt to think of them.

Her eyes landed on the latest installment. The part that confused her was, _if you dive deep enough_. A friend to the left must have meant Metro Man, an enemy must be Megamind (or was it vice versa? Roxanne wasn't sure anymore), and wetting her hair must mean it was in water...But where would she be able to dive?... Her eyes suddenly lit up. The Metro City Pool!

Roxanne grabbed her swim suit and rushed out the door, down the stairs, and down the street. She lived only a short way from the pool, though she didn't go often. When she got there, she saw, at the end of the pool, the diving board. They were ten minutes from closing, but it didn't stop Roxanne from getting changed and rushing to the diving board. On one side of her stood a statue of Metro Man, and on the other side, Megamind.  
>Roxanne dived in and swam to the bottom, opening her eyes and looking around. There was nothing. Not a note, not an object, not a tile with words. Nothing.<p>

Nothing at all.

***Break***

"I don't get it..." Roxanne murmured, staring into space. "I swore that would be where I would find it..."

"Are you sure you checked everywhere under the water?" Kinnith asked.

"Positive. I checked every inch of the pool before closing time," Roxanne told him, stirring her milkshake with her straw.

"Are you sure that's the only place you can think of?" Roxanne nodded, then looked down at her watch with a grimace.

"I have to go; my lunchbreaks over. I'll meet you in the park after work, OK?" Kinnith nodded and Roxanne left, thinking about the riddle halfway back to work.

Then she saw a "Megamind is dead" poster being taken down, and the old pain was back, and her teeth clenched the whole way back to the office, where she was glad to run into Bea for once.

"So, who was that guy?" Bea asked, swiveling her chair to look at Roxanne as she sat down.

"A friend."

"A _boy_friend?"

"You sound like a teenager, and no. Just a friend."

"Hmph," Bearice snorted. "That's what you said about Metro Man. Did you ever say yes to a date with him?" Roxanne paled, and the pain was back just as it went away. "Woah girl! Don't get sick on me again! Anyway, this came in while you were out; it doesn't have a name on it, and I _think_ it _might_ be from Metro Man! Or one of those pesky journalists," she added dismissively. Being a reporter and—well, _Bea,_ Beatrice harbored a certain disdain for journalists, as did many of the employees of KMCP 8 who viewed journalists as living in the past.

Roxanne took the envelope from her and opened it, wondering who it was from, and immediately finding that out.

_I told you not to give up,  
>But you seem to be ailing,<br>So I'll give you a clue.  
>No one made it,<br>No one sold it,  
>But every day someone buys it.<br>Underneath it are the truths,  
>Truths that you may never see.<br>You'll find that those who speak no lies are always lying,  
>And those who speak only lies are truthing.<br>The monk leaves and arrives at sunup and sundown,  
>And again so next day.<br>What time is he in the same place,  
>At what time does the town have a different face,<br>And where do the shadows end?  
>~TMWLY<em>

"Who's TMWLY? Is that the guy you've been having lunch with?" Roxanne started at her friend's voice. She hadn't realized Bea was reading over her shoulder until just now.

"No!" she said, snapping her book down over the letter. "His name is Kinnith. I've been getting these riddles from...TMWLY, and Kinnith has been helping me solve them. I just can't seem to figure this one or the last one out..."

"Well the part about the monk is easy. The answer is noon. I have no idea about the stuff before that, but the last five lines seem pretty simple. At noon the monk would be in the same place, so you need to find the indicator, and follow its shadow."

"Since when did you get so good at riddles?"

"I took a class on riddling last year by accident. I thought I was signing my friend up for fiddling, but then she didn't want to go, so I went to the first lesson and it was actually on riddling, and I'd already paid for it, so I wasn't going to just bail out and—"

"Thanks Bea," Roxanne interrupted, turning to her computer. She'd finished her reports ages ago; she had a lot of spare time lately, and was just waiting on feedback from the boss, so most of what she did at work while she waited was work on the riddles. And right now she needed to work on this one.

She typed in, _Faces; Metro City; Megamind and Metro Man. _She clicked on the very first result, and it was, without a doubt, what she was looking for.

_In the now quiet city of Metro, two faces watch over us. The former villain Megamind faces the sight of his last defeat, while Metro Man watches the city, ever on the alert, ever vigilant, ready for any advancing doom. They are located, newly built, on the top of the Metro City tower..._

Roxanne whipped out her phone faster than lightning and dialed Kinnith's number. "Kinnith, I just got a new letter from TMWLY, and my friend Bea figured it out! Well, the important part, anyway. I need you to go to the Metro City tower and follow the shadows of the statues at the top in...Three minutes exactly. Can you do that? Perfect!"

Only ten minutes passed before he called back.

***Break***

"Is this it?" Roxanne asked, stepping up to the dock Kinnith had pointed out. He nodded.

"This is the one. The shadows reached all the way up and ended here," he said, pointing to the spot in the water. "Right where their faces were, Megamind on the left, Metro Man on the right." Roxanne nodded and took off her jacket and shoes.

"Hold these."

"Wait, where are you—" Before he could ask, Roxanne dove head-first into the water, swimming down until she reached the salty bottom. Eyes closed, she had only to reach out to grasp the thing she was looking for, or thought she was looking for, turn around, and shoot off from the bottom.

Out of breath, gasping for air, and soaking with sea water, Roxanne climbed from the water to end up on the dock, taking deep inhalations of sweet, sweet oxygen. "Roxanne are you all—AAAAgH!" Kinnith screamed, taking a step back and holding his hands up as if to fend off the sight of whatever had offended him. Before Roxanne could ask what was wrong, she saw it as well, and screamed.

There, on the dock, lying with hollow sockets, was Megamind's skull.

Braving her fears and holding her breath, Roxanne reached inside the large, distinctly-shaped skull, feeling tears well up as she pulled forth a tiny box. She didn't open it. She just sat.

And she cried.

And she cried.

And she cried.

She couldn't stop crying, even as Kinnith, surprisingly strong, picked her up and took her to his car, taking the box and (secretly) the skull with them.

***Break***

_If you have been true,  
>You've found the last clue.<br>Here lies his skull,  
>Here lies his final face.<br>Remember that the TEA is green,  
>And HE was blue.<br>And if it's really you,  
>If you really do,<br>Think back to the FIRST,  
>And you'll find the LAST,<br>And maybe you'll see what he saw.  
>~TMWLY<em>

Roxanne finished reading the note and burst into tears again, unable to control herself. "He's dead!" she cried. "He's really dead!"

"Wow. I've never seen you cry before," Kinnith remarked, and she glared at him.

"What does it matter to you?"

"Well what was the first clue?"

"This," she answered, pulling a slip of paper from her jacket pocket. "But it doesn't matter, because Megamind is dead!"

"Well there's always a chance..."

"There's no chance! You saw his skull just like I did! I'll bet I just narrowly missed the rest of him when I was down there, and Minion too!" She started crying again, and Kinnith _really_ didn't know what to do.

"You really...You really cared for him, didn't you?" Roxanne looked Kinnith in the eye, then looked down.

"I guess I—I guess I did," she whispered. "I never really realized it...Until he was gone, but...Megamind and I were...Very close." Her voice broke again.

"What about Metro Man?" Now Roxanne's eyes were lit with pure rage and hatred.

"What _about_ Metro Man? He's a monster; a filthy, dirty, stupid, conceited, _MONSTER__!_ If I never heard his name again, it'd be too soon!"

"How close were you and Megamind?" Kinnith asked.

"Why? Are you a reporter, trying to 'get the goods' on my personal life?" she asked accusingly, suddenly suspicious, and Kinnith shook his head, holding his hands up as if to say "calm down."

"No, I'm just—just a friend. I figured...I just wanted to know..." Roxanne slumped down into her chair again.

"I don't know," she whispered, shaking his head. "I don't know. I never realized Megamind and I were even _friends_, but then...After he died...I guess I lost it. Every time I saw his picture I thought of him, and it hurt, and then when all his pictures were taken down, it was even worse. It was like a thousand knives were stuck in my heart and twisted, being thrust deeper and deeper, as I was slowly sucked into a black hole of pure agony," (she had always been good with words) "and I guess you could say I—I—"

"You loved him?" Kinnith asked, and the word made Roxanne look deep into Kinnith's eyes, and she nodded.

"I think, if things had been different, if Megamind hadn't died, I would have loved him."

"_Do_ you love him?" Kinnith asked, and there was a look in his eyes Roxanne couldn't quite identify...

**Author Comments:**

**Finished! WOAH! Was this a surprise? Any of it? Was the skull part a surprise? I bet it was. I bet you thought Megamind was still alive! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Now on to chapter 7, and ANON!**


	7. Can You Love A Dead Man?

"_Do_ you love him?" Kinnith asked, and there was a look in his eyes Roxanne couldn't quite identify.

"Can you love someone who's already dead?" she asked, answering his question with her own. "Because if you can, then yes. Yes, I still love him. And I don't think...I don't think I could ever love any other man, even if he isn't really human. I'm just so...So lost." Kinnith paused, then took her hand, and looked tenderly into her eyes.

"Roxanne, I think I figured out the last clue."

"But—"

"Fine, the first clue. It's a replacement riddle. It really means there's a cave under the sea, where you'll find him, whether that someone is Megamind, or TMWLY, or both."

"It has to be TMWLY, then, because Megamind is dead."

**Author Comments:**

**Short chapter to build suspense. :D**


	8. The Game Night Scenario

"Do you love Megamind?" Kinnith repeated, a different tenderness creeping into his eyes and voice.

"Yes! Yes, I told you, I love Megamind!" she shouted in frustration. Couldn't Kinnith hear her? Couldn't he hear the agony in her voice? Couldn't he see the way it hurt her whenever he used Megamind's name? Did he _want_ to torture her?

"Then you should tell him yourself," Kinnith said, reaching to his right arm with his left and pressing a button on the watch he was wearing, and changing form in time to say the last word in that sentence in his own, natural-born voice. Roxanne gasped.

"Minion!" she cried, stepping back. "But—but you're—"

"Dead? Yes, Miss Ritchi; that's what Sir wanted you to think, and for _everyone_ to think."

"So why did—So how did—And the notes?"

"I can't tell you anything else until we get there, Miss Ritchi. You need to follow me."

"But—but—" Minion turned and walked from the room, and before she knew what she was doing, Roxanne followed Minion out the door and into a wall—and down a tunnel.

***Break***

At the bottom of the tunnel, Roxanne lost Minion, and found herself wandering in a cavalcade of walkways. She knew she was in trouble when she realized it wasn't just random tunnels, but a labyrinth.

Or so she thought.

When she sank down against a stone wall, she found herself falling backwards, and tumbled down a rather steep earthen hill, smacking her head twice on two different rocks before picking herself up at the bottom. As Roxanne stood and began dusting herself off, a familiar voice made her stop dead.

"Roxanne?"

***Break***

Roxanne turned around slowly, and when she saw Megamind standing there, she didn't know how to react.

Nor did he.

They stood, staring into one another's eyes in confusion. Megamind was confused as to why Roxanne was here, and why her eyes seemed clouded with pain. Roxanne was confused because of what she had told Minion—that she loved Megamind—and because she thought, even after seeing Minion, that he was dead.

"You're...Alive," she finally said, and Megamind nodded slowly.

"I'm alive. And you're here. How?" Before she could answer, Minion came bursting in, looking flustered.

"Sir, Sir, I've done a terrible thing! I lost Miss Ritchi and I don't know—" Then he spotted her, and the three lapsed into awkward silence. It was a silence so deep and awkward that each of them found it suffocating. Until Roxanne said,

"So why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"You know...Pretend that—"

"Oh. That." Megamind looked to Minion for some sort of rescue or a means of escape, but for once, Minion refused to step in. He shook his head and crossed his arms, watching. "Minion!" Minion shook his head and Megamind sighed in irritation. "Oh, I don't even know what the big deal is! After Metro Man destroyed our plan we decided we'd play dad—"

"Dead."

"Yes, dead, for awhile and attack when we were least expected to. I don't know why you're here or why the air seems angry!" Roxanne nodded slowly for a second.

"Oh," she said quietly. And that was all. Then she walked over the Megamind, set a hand on his shoulder, and with her right hand, socked his jaw as hard as she could.

"OW, MY _GIANT_ BLUE HEAD!" Megamind screamed, falling to the ground. "Minion, why is she even _here!_"

"Because _I love you!_" Roxanne shouted, and that stopped Megamind dead.

"You...What?"

"I love you," she whispered, and dropped to her knees. "I love you, and I thought you were dead, and in a way you were, and I was lost, and I didn't know what to do, and then I found your clues and thought maybe, _just maybe_, and then I found your skull, and I knew you were dead, but then Kinnith was Minion, and he tricked me, and he said, and I said, and—" She choked on the words, seconds away from crying all over again. Megamind reached out a tentative gloved hand and awkwardly set it upon her shoulder.

"I don't understand," he stated, trying to be comforting but completely confused.

"When I went to the museum, Bernard showed me a letter you'd written, that included my name, and it was a riddle, and then—Then I got another one at home, and I started following them, and then they lead me to your skull, and now..." She burst into tears, unable to cope with anything that had gone on. Not sure what to do, but wanting to lend comfort in any way he could, Megamind awkwardly embraced Roxanne, letting her cry on his shoulder.

"Minion...?"

"Sir...I added an extra something to the note you left in the lair. A clue about where we were. And the night Roxanne went to the museum, I left a note on her door and began...Helping her to find you, sort of. And I planted a marble replica of your head shape as a skull under water with the last clue, and—"

"You did _what!_" Megamind asked, more than a little angry. "Why would you do that! Why would you try and give away our plan! And why would you even—"

"It wasn't like they weren't your words, Sir; you were the one who supplied me with the clues and riddles on game night when we did an, 'if we wanted to be found' scenario!"

"But why would you even do that!" Megamind yelled, standing up.

"I was only looking out for you, Sir!"

"By giving us away?"

"You were the one who said you wished you could tell Miss Ritchi how you really felt, Sir!" And there was silence again; a very long, awkward silence. Roxanne had stopped crying when their argument became heated. Megamind's face was turning purple. No one spoke. Not for a long, long while. Then, again, Roxanne broke the silence.

"And how is that?"

"Well, I, um...Er...It's not really...I don't see...And anyway..." Megamind said, flustered, trying to find a way out. "Minion, how did you sign the notes?" he asked, switching subjects.

"TMWLY," Minion answered a little sheepishly, and Megamind's face turned completely purple, right up to the tips of his ears.

"Will someone tell me what's going on?" Roxanne asked. "What does TMWLY even stand for?"

"The...The Man Who..." Megamind paused.

"The Man Who what?" Roxanne demanded, pushing him on.

"The Man Who Loves You," he answered, eyes cast down, and Roxanne halted.

"Oh," she said.

And that was all.

**Author Comments:**

**How do we POSSIBLY escape from this awkwardness? Even I don't know. Who guessed what TMWLY stands for? Zara on dA. Who guessed he was hiding in a cave under the sea? VampiricYoshi on dA. Did I surprise you at all? I certainly hope so. 'Cause I even surprised me! XDXD!**


	9. Throw It All Away

Roxanne sat on the bed that had been provided for her. They couldn't let her go now that she knew where they were at, so they were keeping her locked in their undersea lair. She didn't mind, really. After all she had been through, she didn't want to go back. But she didn't know how to approach Megamind after such an awkward conversation. In the end, after all was said and done, nothing that needed to be said was said. The air was still coursing with unchanneled feelings and unspoken words.

Since there were only two cave-rooms suitable for sleeping, and Megamind had given her his bed, Roxanne had decided the only course of action she could take was to talk to him at bedtime. So she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Until at last a short, slim figure in blue and black snuck in, trying to go unseen in the dark as he crept towards his sleeping bag at the other end of the room.

It didn't work.

"Megamind," Roxanne said as he crept past, and reaching out, she caught his hand. They both froze. Blushing furiously in the dark, Roxanne took her hand away. "I—I need to talk to you." Megamind didn't say anything, but when she felt him sit next to her, Roxanne went on. "Megamind, I don't really know what to say, and I don't know when I fell in love with you—I just did. And—"

"And what about _Metro Man_?" Megamind asked in an uncharacteristically bitter fashion.

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't that why you're doing this, Roxanne? So you can go back and tell Metro Man where we are so he can _really_ kill us, or shut us away, and you can live happily ever after?"

"What? No!"

"I'm going to bed," he huffed, standing.

"At least take the actual bed!" Roxanne insisted, and when he started walking away, she did the only thing she could do. Roxanne grabbed his hand, pulled him back, and kissed him; it was a long, deep, passionate kiss, and Megamind forgot all the pretenses he had imagined Roxanne was working under.

And Roxanne forgot about everything but him.

***Break***

The next morning there was still an awkward silence hanging over them, but a different type of awkward, because of what they had done the night before. Minion didn't know, and though he suspected, he didn't say anything. Each time Roxanne and Megamind so much as brushed against one another, they blushed and mumbled something before finding an excuse to move away.

And the very day after that was the day Megamind and Minion decided to reveal themselves.

And Roxanne, too.

They pretended to back to the regular routine. But it wasn't the same, especially after Roxanne moved into Megamind's lair (secretly of course, so no one but them knew). And after Roxanne gave birth to Megamind's son, there was no longer any hiding or denying any of the rumors that had been circulating about them. But while it did affect both of their reputations, Megamind went to jail less and less often, and Roxanne never went at all.

After all, it wasn't a crime to fall in love.

**Author Comments:**

**THE LAST CHAPTERRRR! 'Cept for the Epilouge, of course. :D**


	10. Epilogue

The shadow that fell over the body wasn't very tall, nor was it very short. It was a woman's shadow, known to everyone in the community for multiple things. She was a great reporter, a beautiful woman, the Mother of Megamind's son, and his ongoing lover.

And now an unprofessed murderer.

She knew this was the wrong path to take, really, but it felt so...Right! So wonderful to look over his body and see the Monster lifeless and cold, blood pouring from what used to be his chest.

The baby in its snuggly chest-pouch suckled contentedly on a binky, and Roxanne Ritchi set a dainty hand on his bald head. "You destroyed me once, from the inside out," she told the corpse of Metro Man, an angry tear escaping her tear duct. "You tore out my heart and didn't even care. It's only fitting you should die the same way—from the inside out."

Just like that, Roxanne turned and walked away, leaving Metro Man to rot in the ditch he lay in. They had nothing on her. She had never touched him, had never laid a finger on him, had never discussed her plans to kill him.

All she did was make sure he ate the wrong salad, the one she had overheard a terrorist saying was headed for the president. In a way she was a hero. She had, "inadvertently" saved the president. It was just too bad Metro Man had to die for it. But now Metro City was safe.

And so was her family.

**Author Comments:**

**And here be-eth the epilogue! :D I hereby bestow upon this fanfiction the Theme Song of "Faking My Own Suicide," by Relient K. I hope you enjoyed the tale! ^.^**


End file.
